In A Little Box
by Eggman Oyu Castle
Summary: It's Sweetest Day, and Naruto is sitting in a tree. He's thinking about someone. . . . One Shot. A Sweetest Day fic.


I wrote this for Sweetest Day, which is in five days. I dedicate this little piece to my little Walrus friend. This is a Friendship fic, even though it's for Sweetest Day. Happy Sweetest Day to you all, and I hope you enjoy my story.

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Naruto was sitting on a tree limb. As he was lost in his thoughts, he was unconsciously fiddling with something in his hands. He felt so many feelings mixed up inside him, he couldn't understand.

Naruto was unsure of how he felt about the circumstance he was currently in. There was some sorrow in there, Naruto was pretty sure of that. He didn't know for sure, though, what it was about. Was it leftover pain from what he had been going through for the past fifteen months, he didn't know. It might have been from thoughts of what he was thinking of doing and what possible outcomes he imagined.

Naruto thought he felt a strange giddiness, too, though. Maybe that was because the possibility was in front of him that he might find what he had wanted so long. Naruto looked at the small object he had been passing between his hands as long as he'd been in the tree. Then he knew, the joy that had started to swell inside him, it was because he was finally doing something, something he couldn't take back afterward, and because he would be out of the emotional pit he had labored himself in digging.

Naruto looked down and around, wondering if anyone had been watching him. He tried hiding the little item in his hands, but there was nowhere he could put it, and he was afraid it might fall from its spot in the tree. Naruto was nervous. There was so much that could go wrong. On the other hand, no matter what might happen, there was nothing more he had to lose. He was still a bit nervous, anyways.

As he sat, he wondered what was going to happen. Several possible outcomes played through his head, some less desirable than others, but it didn't make sense, to Naruto, that any of them would happen.

The song of a white bird flying by brought Naruto back to reality, and his focus turned back to what was still in his hands. He had been confused with so many thoughts and feelings contradicting each other, but with all the time he had spent in the tree, he had figured out most of it.

Naruto was not going to change his mind. He had decided, and that meant _it was decided_. He would not turn on himself again, he would not be lost to another day.

Naruto had decided, yes, but he wanted to stay in the tree another while longer. He let a few memories play through his head.

He saw himself and a little boy, with another sitting between them. The youngest one whispered to the one in the middle, who, in turn, whispered the same to him.

Then, he saw himself swimming. The same two other boys were there, too, and there were several other people there. They were swimming and having a good time, and they knew pizza was coming.

The next thing he saw was himself and the little boy both sitting in blue, fuzzy chairs, singing a funny, old song. That was the clearest of his memories. Naruto could remember what he had thought and felt at that time and place.

The last memory he let play through was of the last time he had seen the little boy. The boy had fallen and twisted his ankle. Naruto couldn't remember him crying, though. Now that he had come to think of it, he couldn't remember ever seeing him cry. He felt sure the boy had to have cried at some times, though. Naruto didn't like imagining the boy crying. It had to be the worst thing he could imagine. Naruto wished he could be there whenever he cried, so he could make him feel better.

The time had come. Naruto made sure the item was in a secure place, and he made his way down the tree. It didn't take long for him to get where he had wanted to go. Naruto saw the boy sitting in front of the memorial stone, staring ahead, in a bit of a daze.

Now that the moment had come, he felt some of the familiar nervousness coming back, but he had decided. He looked at the boy for a moment, and all the memories came back in a rush. Then, he knew it was the right moment. Naruto moved silently and started into a slow walk. When he was right in front of the boy, he set the small something on the ground. He continued walking, and, after a few more steps, he disappeared.

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Konohamaru had hardly seen Naruto walk by. For a moment, the boy looked around, wondering if Naruto might still be there. Then, Konohamaru noticed a little box, right in front of him. He picked it up and saw it was adorned with seashells and sand dollars and various sea creatures that had been painted on the box. On the top of the little box, it had been made to look like the top of a clamshell, and it read, "The world is filled with treasures . . ." Konohamaru opened the box, and a song started playing. Hearing the song made Konohamaru's skin tingle. Inside the box, there were three pieces of paper, and at the top of the first page, it read, "In A Little Box." It was a story Naruto had written about two fictional characters on a Sweetest Day. At the end of the third piece of paper, Naruto had written, "Happy Sweetest Day, Konohamaru. Love, Naruto." Underneath the pieces of paper, on the bottom of the box, there was something made to look like a pearl. Also on the bottom of the little box, it read, ". . . And you're one of the most precious of all."

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Only moments after he had left, Naruto had taken back his place on that limb of that tree. He wondered what Konohamaru was thinking and feeling and what he might do. He wondered what would happen next.

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Heh. It doesn't seem much like a Friendship fic, but it's supposed to be. Please review --- Your Lovely Eggman


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